Fresco

The house margaritas aren’t your average house margarita. Fresco’s margaritas truly are different, keeping with their overall theme. The salsa is not your average salsa and has more of a roasted chipotle pepper taste to it. The queso is melted cheese and, not the liquid nacho cheese they have at some places. If you are looking for an atypical Mexican flavor, this is the spot.

Great margaritas! The bartenders are personable and remembered me from the previous week which is an added bonus. The whole reason we came for a second visit was due to The House Margarita which is awesome as a pitcher and quite economical. We were also given chips and salsa which persuaded us to order nachos. A huge amount for 2 people but so delicious we ate them all. The chips were all crunchy and the cheese wasn’t greasy. We can’t wait to go back.

Wasn’t very impressed. Came here on a Living Social, Groupon… one of the two. We came right from work so a bit early, place was dead. We called to make a reservation as it said they were required. We got there and they had no record of the reservation — whatever… like I said, it wasn’t crowded. We were seated right next to another family and the next customer was seated right next to us. There’s an entire restaurant and you stick us all together… the waitstaff clearly didn’t know what they were doing. or just didn’t care.
We ordered some margaritas which took a while to come. Whatever. I got a specialty one and it didn’t have the «specialty» flavor in it. We then had house margaritas for $ 5. Basic. Nothing fabulous… that’s to be expected. The meals came and were good. Tacos and Enchiladas. Can’t complain about the food, but the server wasn’t exceptional. She wasn’t rude or unfriendly, but she also wasn’t personable.
The place was less than average. I was looking forward to it being really good, but it wasn’t great. Probably won’t go back.

This was so good! The location it is in can lead to a little apprehension I think– but when you walk in it is bright and clean! The staff is very friendly and accommodating. The food was amazing! I sat at the bar on a Saturday night late (after 9). They had live music and a small patio you can hang out on outside the bar (and eat there too!) as many local Mexican places have come and gone this will be my new spot for Mexican in the area! The hot sauce they had on the tables was delicious!

We thoroughly enjoyed our dinner here Monday night. I have a food allergy and the waiter was very accommodating. The restaurant was clean, bright and pleasant.
For appetizers, we chose roasted corn and guacamole, both of which were delicious. We couldn’t finish the guacamole, and it was very tasty the next day, too. My entrée was the cheese enchiladas in mole Oaxaca. Yum! The mole was complex and flavorful. My husband had the vegetable enchiladas in verde sauce which was also very tasty. The vegetables included caramelized onion and portobello mushrooms which added a lot of flavor. We couldn’t finish those either since the portions were quite large and I can testify that they did very well the next day.

Most of the dishes are terrific, starting with the wonderful and cheese drenched nachos. Entrees are hit and miss. Fajitas have a very odd spice on them that made them inedible. They replaced it with a terrific shrimp dish. Kids’ meals are plentiful and my daughter loves the steak. Side salad was inedible. Desserts great, save room. Service is ok, not great. Staff is pleasant, but overworked. Forgetting simple stuff, like water. A better than average Mexican, but if I’m going to have to send back 1 dish per meal, it gets a bit annoying.

Went to dinner with another couple on a late Saturday night. Sat in the bar area at a table. There was no wait which was great. Drink menu is great. Lots of drinks to choose from and very different flavors in all of them. From Margarita, martinis, and mojitos. I loved everything we ordered. The coconut martini was amazing.
We ordered Mexico City Corn as an appetizer. I must say it is a must try! i loved it. and really am looking forward to having it again. I went with an appetizer as my meal and had the Yucatan Chicken. It was AMAZING. Presentation was something the restaurant take pride in and came out great. I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone who loves Mexican. I know i’m missing A LOT but i had a few cocktails and must say i was very impressed. Bartender was a sweetheart too!

Found his place via Groupon and it was set to expire next weekend so my boyfriend and I ventured out to this place last night. Upon arrival we were unsure what to expect as the patrons in the lobby were I don’t know how to say this… reminiscent of individuals you would find at a Truck Stop or a DMV. Anywhere from families to people that looked downright homeless and everything in between. The particular group in the lobby didnt seem to know how takeout worked. They would ask «how long is the wait» and she would say 10 – 15 minutes and she was correct if you wanted a table but they never asked her «how long is the wait for my to go order». So the bitchy Asian woman kept complaining because she kept telling her «another10−15» minutes. Finally the son asked the correct question and she informed them, TOGO orders were picked up at the bar and that it was probably ready, so the son starts heading to the bar and the mom (bitchy Asian lady) stopped him as if he was an idiot. Who knows how long this dysfunction went on and/​or if they ever got their order. we were seated.
Our server was nice, prompt, friendly. The menu was extensive, except in the burrito category. there was none? Just bizarre for a Mexican restaurant. The drink menu was also extensive and looked all kinds of tempting. I ended up with a Frozen Banana Margarita which was quite tasty. The chis and salsa… chips were stale, salsa was okay, not great, not awful. Hot sauce was freakin awesome. If you’ve ever had Flatbread pizza’s hot sauce, it’s EXACTLY like that. sweet/​hot. LOVED it.
My boyfriend ordered the Mexico City Chicken and the server said it was a «good choice». I ordered the Chicken Tinga Tacos and the server informed me it was an «acquired» taste. It’s kinda sweet/​tangy. I respect his honesty but ordered it anyway. Funny thing. mine as freakin delicious!!! My boyfriend’s. he said it was «meh» kinda bland. So, after reading the reviews it seems this place is really hit or miss on the food. If we lived closer we would definitely come back and try other items but we’re not going to drive 45 minutes for «hit or miss» food.

Found the restaurant via a coupon from groupon. Great tasting food, $ 5 house margaritas, complimentary chips and salsa. Ordered the Drunken steak with mushroom and onion tacos and they were amazing. Our waitress Angela got us anything we needed and service was great. Going to go back this week!

I decided to try Fresco after being cooped up in the house after blizzard nemo. The food was good. Lots of cheese, good seasoning, and good spice level. Because of the aforementioned storm, we were stuck with old tortillas and chips. That’s expected though. The dining room was closed so we are in the bar. The one server/​bartender Jason (I think that was his name) was very friendly and accommodating. I’d def go back again, and hopefully they will be back in tortilla action.
A pervious Unilocaler mentioned that it was dirty, which I do not agree with. I found it to be quite clean.

The need to please was double fold, John our server and toward the end Dawn the manager were sealing the deal of a very successful Grouponian gastronomic experience. Throughout the dinner course each dish of the 12 different ones we tried was outstanding and delicious. there is no way we are not coming back to repeat this wonderful Mexican fare. What a great find to have settled in West Haven.

My to go to place for guacamole… ! sooo amazing. =)
please don’t go by the negative reviews… i’ve never had a negative experience with the restaurant… helpful staff, delicious food (watch the tortillas being made from your seat!), wonderful drinks…
be sure to try the cherry chocolate cake ;)

Just came home from this, I will never return. Horrible food. Wait staff was friendly but unable to compensate for such a long wait for such a bad meal. My wife had a lamb pot pie that came in a tin and was certainly from a freezer, I had the Fajita, worst ever. Pictures were taken and shared on Unilocal

My boyfriend and I went here on a whim. I found a groupon and he was craving Mexican so it worked out. We weren’t expecting much based on its location but… the food was AMAZING. I’ve eaten tons of Mexican and have never had any this good. Even something as simple as nachos were mind blowing. Definitely will be coming back!

I’m looking at the reviews and I wonder if I was at the same restaurant. My first impression was that the place was DIRTY. The tables were on the sticky side. Think– if you rest your arm on the table too long you’ll struggle pulling it off. The place was reality empty when we arrived. The waiter was nice and friendly. I scanned the menu and nothing jumped out at me. The prices were on the higher end. I don’t like paying that much for Mexican especially if the tables are sticky. I had a difficult time deciding what I wanted to try.
We ended up with the Asada and Al pastor style tacos. I opt for a shrimp burrito as well, which was totally disappointing. All the dishes tasted the same. The same sauce was used in all the dishes. Everything was on the sweet side. I expected the Al pastor tacos to be sweet but was shocked that the Asada was sweet as well.
The poor waiter was working the floor all by himself so it took forever to get out of there. I didn’t really enjoy my meal. They had one hot sauce but since the bottle looked dirty I had to skip on it. In all fairness I was able to use my leftover protein the following day for my breakfast salad. With a little fresh salsa from Whole foods my leftovers were delicious. This place was be decent if they added a kick to their salsas and sauces.
I’ll return if someone else is paying but even then I would hesitate. If in the area why not head to Uncle Willie’s?

Food is pretty good, service is fairly slow, definitely plan to take a while. The dessert is awesome, save room.

We came here with a coupon, but we’ve been on the hunt for good Mexican food since moving to CT four years ago. We’ve tried Mezcal (okay), Aunt Chilada’s (mediocre to poor), and Sloppy Jose’s (okay), and the taco trucks down on Long Wharf (good). Fresco blows them all away by far. It elevates Mexican dining to gourmet — something we had only found at Besito in West Hartford (excellent) — but that’s a drive and Fresco’s prices are much more reasonable. In fact Fresco is a really good value for the food, in quantity, quality and presentation.
We had one of the nightly specials, Relleno Oaxaca, stuffed with chicken and cheese in a mole sauce — the spicing was wonderful. We also had the Shrimp Tostada — the lettuce was fresh and crisp, the shrimp wonderfully spiced and charred. Then we had the Pork Enchiladas Verde –we couldn’t believe the portion size — amazing. The verde sauce was incredibly piquant, the pork was tender and flavorful — we took half of it home. The side of rice and beans were such a treat we just scarfed them up. The black beans were clearly homemade and not canned, with a great hearty and smoky flavor that was a good foil against our main dishes with heat. We also opted for a special margarita that was made with their tequila of the month — very tasty.
We had a hard time choosing a dessert, as there were at least six options and all of them sounded great. We ended up sharing the Banana Split — a sugar frosted tostada base topped with banana ice cream, fresh banana spears, chocolate sauce and roasted and salted peanuts. It was heavenly and amptly sized for two. We can hardly wait to go back to try some of the others. There was a coconut ice cream served in a coconut shell with chocolate sauce that will surely be our next choice.
The service was also excellent. Our server was friendly, attentive and gracious. The food came in good time — and it was a Saturday night, although not too busy. The owner or hostess came by at an appropriate moment to check on our experience. We will be going back — again and again.

We came here because we had a gift certificate but this place turned out to be amazing!
We got the grilled street corn and tostada salad for appetizers and chicken fajitas and shrimp mike oxaca enchiladas for an entrée. The tortillas are freshly made for each order and you can watch them make them. All the food was super fresh and flavorful. We also got a $ 5 house margarita in coconut, which didn’t disappoint.
The prices here are very decent. We got 5 menu items and almost didn’t spend enough to finish the gift certificate. Some menu items are under $ 3 and others are $ 8 – 15.
The staff are super friendly and efficient and even came out to ask about any allergies– amazing!

After waiting forever for something to open back up at this location, I was pleased to see a Mexican establishment come in and give it a go. I am very pleased overall with the food and service here as well.

My first experience there started out a little rough but as other reviews have stated, the servers are very good at what they do. So on to the rough stuff. My wife and I got there a little before they opened the dining room for dinner. The wife and I decided to walk around the local shops for a half hour until 4:00 to kill some time. We came back in, had a drink and looked at the menu for a little bit. After snacking on the chips and salsa, I ordered the pork chops and after a few minutes they came back to tell me they were out of them. So I took a few more minutes to decide on the steak dish. They were out of that as well so I ended up with a tortilla based dish. Apparently while I was eating, one of the owners was on his way with steak and pork chops. Towards the end of my meal, the owner came over and apologized for not having the pork chops and had the kitchen make me a plate at no charge. Am I ever glad he did! They were some of the best chops I ever had. Had this not happened, I probably would not have returned to give them a second try.
I think I can explain some of the negative reviews. No offense intended towards the owners but if you are looking for authentic Mexican, this isnt it. I do want to say that the food is extremely tasty and can stand on its own merits. If you go in with an open mind and a healthy appetite, you will not be dissapointed. The real draw here is the customer service and tequila selections. Each time I have been back, I have tried additional dishes that have really suprised me. Just a note of caution since some people really dislike making their own tacos, you make your own here. All of the ingredients are very fresh and there are plenty of them.
Drink specials are available everyday as well as a happy hour appetizer special. This is a great way to try some new things at a greatly reduced price. While Fresco may have had a rocky start, they have been added to my local rotation of favorites in the area. Don’t forget to try the flan for dessert.

I went to Fresco last night with my boyfriend, just to check out the menu and have a drink. I was very impressed. I loved El Torero (before it went downhill) and we curious to see what Fresco had to offer!..
I was definitely impressed. The menu gives you a good amount of choices, so you are not overwhelmed but have enough to choose from. We sat at the bar and my boyfriend had a beer and I tried their Margarita of the day (which was peach) it was only $ 5! The bartender, Nicole, explained to me that they use fresh fruit in the blender when they make it frozen but when on the rocks, the fruit does not purée like it does in the blender so they use an organi peach tree like liquor, it was great. She also reccomended the blueberry margarita, which I tried and was very happy especially since it was garnished with fresh blueberries!
For food, I tried a special they had it was a chorizo quesidilla– I am not a huge fan of sausage so they subbed out the meat for chicken and it also had cheeses and shitake mushrooms in it served with a side of this sause that is called «rojo sauce» if I remember right– The portion was big too! I am actually finishing it up as I type, seeing as I had enought for lunch today. We also tried a peanut appetizer that was only $ 1.50 and they were peanuts covered in spices of pepper and other things– still had left overs of those today too! My boyfriend had a pork empanada (sp?) that he raved about and said it was the best he ever had. We definitely left full and happy.
The prices are very reasonable as well. All that food/​drinks and we still left there spending about $ 50 including at least a 20% tip.
I will deff reccomend to others as well as be back ourselves! :o)
Ps– the service was great and personable as well.